Conference coverage

About a month before Argentina’s Senate is set to discuss a new competition bill, the president of the National Commission for the Defence of Competition has said he has never seen so much political support for competition policy in the country.

Argentina’s sensational return to the capital markets last year promised to revolutionise the country’s project finance space, but the PPP projects kicking off the country’s infrastructure revamp may be too much, too soon, heard delegates at Latin Lawyer’s 5th Annual Regional Project Finance Summit, held in Washington, DC last month.

Tax amnesty programmes only work if taxpayers trust governments to protect and avoid misusing their financial information, said panellists at Latin Lawyer’s 2nd Annual Tax Summit, held in Miami last month.

Finance for gas power projects is starting to come from less traditional sources, but the associated legislation is far from perfect in Brazil and Mexico, heard delegates at Latin Lawyer’s 5th Annual Regional Project Finance Summit, held in Washington, DC last month.

Applying policies consistently is crucial to avoid being penalised under new transfer pricing regulations, said UPS' director of taxes for the Americas at Latin Lawyer’s 2nd Annual Tax Summit, held in Miami earlier this month.

The OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project is “very ambitious”, but could backfire if there is a mismatch in how the framework is implemented in different jurisdictions, said lawyers at Latin Lawyer’s 2nd Annual Tax Summit, held in Miami a fortnight ago.

Government officials moving to the private sector face public criticism and suspicion from clients, but two former top Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA) officials say having experience on both sides of the table is worth it.

The head of Mexico’s competition authority called for “smart regulation” as a tool to promote competition in the Mexican market, but acting Federal Trade Commission chairman Maureen Ohlhausen warned that excessive regulation could dampen competition.